Audition
1999 ‘Ôdishon’ Directed by Takashi Miike
Synopsis
Seven years after the death of his wife, company executive Aoyama is invited to sit in on auditions for an actress. Leafing through the resumés in advance, his eye is caught by Yamazaki Asami, a striking young woman with ballet training.
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I'm glad I'm married because I'm never dating again.
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Prolific Japanese director Takashi Miike is known to stir up controversy with his film's graphic content, and this is perhaps his most disturbing. Yet, at the same time, it is tame and slow-paced compared to something like Ichi the Killer (2001). But it quickly descends into gruesome, grotesque madness; the final act will exhaust even the strongest stomachs. Although, what some might mistake for tasteless, torture-porn violence is nothing of the sort. Miike's patient plotting and tender treatment of his tortured characters hints at the ultimate terrors in store for us.
A middle-aged widower, Aoyama, decides to conduct an audition to find his ideal women. He is immediately smitten by Asami Yamazaki, she is quiet and mysterious. Aoyama's friend, Yoshikawa,…
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Unrelenting, that's what this film is.
If you really want to know what this film can do to you, read as little about it as you can. That's what happened to me and I have to confess, this film haunted me for quite some time.
That all had to do with the typical slow, meticulous build up you often see in Asian films. This pace provides a perfect platform for Takashi Miike to showcase his sadism and his understanding what true horror is all about. He sinks his hooks into you, the viewer, by making you care for a very sympathetic leading man and then, halfway, he rips those hooks out with force and uncompromising terror.True horror, that's what this film is.
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If you're not aware, based on a novel by Ryu Murakami, director Takashi Miike's Audition is surprisingly deliberate and straightforward for much of its length. It's not a bad film at all, but most of it is in the realm of realist drama, even becoming something of a romance at one point. There are a few brutal images and scenarios, but they arrive primarily towards the end of the film, and they tend to be more conceptually disturbing than graphically violent.
Audition is the story of Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), who is living alone with his son, Shigehiko (Tetsu Sawaki), after his wife, Ryoko (Miyuki Matsuda), passes away. First egged on by Shigehiko, Shigeharu decides to remarry. He enlists the…
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Audition isn't a slow buildup of tension. The first 50 minutes or so are instead very thoughtful, contemplative, measured and maybe even a little bit boring. And then things get a little weird. But instead of slowly getting weirder, it just goes BATSHIT INSANE. Without any warning. Miike just puts the pedal to the medal. Torture. Kidnapping. Vomit is consumed. Tongues jump. And the sack, oh my god. What's reality? What's hallucination? What in god's holy name is happening in front of my eyes?
This movie caused actual physical discomfort to me. It made my skin crawl. It made my stomach lurch. I wanted so badly to tear my eyes away from the screen. So why couldn't I? Short answer: because it was really, really good. Just beware: Audition will defy all of your expectations.
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"... kiri, kiri, kiri..."
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I usually go out of my way to avoid any information about movies that I want to see. Trailers show too much, plot descriptions go past the first act, etc, etc. I know that I'm not alone in this. So, what gives with the movie poster art, here? "Audition" is a slow burn story about a middle-aged man looking for a second wife. It's a simple premise, and I found it to be pretty boring. Probably because all I could think about was, "OK, when is this craz-o gonna put on those rubber gloves?" I don't know if that was supposed to be a twist - I mean, the foreshadowing is obviously there - but "Rosemary's Baby" this is not.…
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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If it wasn't for Marley and Me, this would comfortably be the bleakest rom-com around...
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Disturbing, creepy and squirm inducing gore. It's great.
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this is what happens when you trust women
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Ok, so this movie was a killer film, metaphorically and broadly speaking. Sometimes when I watch a film, and there is a scene that is completely disgusting I begin to laugh out of control, because my mind cannot take it, and for some reason begins to crack up. The ending torture scene for this film was like that for me, now I'm not going to ruin it for anyone cause it was intense, but it may force you to do a few double takes here and there. Overall it was a cool film, and though it did have its weak points, I still enjoyed it. Its good to watch some really gory foreign films every now and then.
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Get ready to feel sick.
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Audition isn't a slow buildup of tension. The first 50 minutes or so are instead very thoughtful, contemplative, measured and maybe even a little bit boring. And then things get a little weird. But instead of slowly getting weirder, it just goes BATSHIT INSANE. Without any warning. Miike just puts the pedal to the medal. Torture. Kidnapping. Vomit is consumed. Tongues jump. And the sack, oh my god. What's reality? What's hallucination? What in god's holy name is happening in front of my eyes?
This movie caused actual physical discomfort to me. It made my skin crawl. It made my stomach lurch. I wanted so badly to tear my eyes away from the screen. So why couldn't I? Short answer: because it was really, really good. Just beware: Audition will defy all of your expectations.